Quantum lasers: Half light, half matter

Lasers might be pushing 50, but they are still the youthful pin-ups of fundamental physics. Since the first one was unveiled in 1960, the more apocalyptic predictions of how they might be used - as death rays, for example - have proved to be overblown. Their peaceful application, on the other hand, can be seen everywhere from cutting and welding to combating cancer and cataracts, to powering telecoms and consumer electronics, and has mushroomed into an industry worth $6 billion in 2007. Advances in the laser lab translate into gadgets in our homes at astonishing speed: think of the progression from CD to DVD and now Blu-ray technology in just a few decades.

So here's a heads-up for you: we could be about to witness the next stage in the laser's evolution, a sea change in how laser light is produced. A new wave of devices looks likely ...

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